Anchor text is the visible, clickable words in a hyperlink. Search engines read it as a short description of the destination page, so it contributes to understanding what that page covers.
Why it matters
Descriptive anchors help users know where a link leads and help search engines connect pages to topics. Anchors like "click here" carry no topical information, while "DNS propagation guide" does. Accessibility also benefits, since screen reader users often navigate by a list of links.
Search engines also look at the text around a link, so a natural sentence containing the anchor gives extra context. Keep anchors short, accurate and varied across your site.
Example
<!-- Weak -->
<a href="/guides/ttl-explained">click here</a>
<!-- Descriptive -->
<a href="/guides/ttl-explained">how DNS TTL works</a>Common mistakes
- Using the exact same keyword-rich anchor on a large share of external links, which looks manipulative.
- Writing very long anchors that read like a sentence.
- Using generic anchors for every internal link.
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